DPM Chapter 42-Tide Of Rats Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
“Mister Yun, you’re really awesome, you can do anything!” Ye Fan sincerely praised Wu Xingyun. “You’re special forces, aren’t you?”
“Hmm,” went Wu Xingyun. “The meat is done.”
Ye Fan promptly cut a slice of meat and delivered it to Wu Xingyun’s mouth.
They continued that way. Ye Fan feeding Wu Xingyun, while watching the soldier repair the vehicle.
Wu Xingyun’s meticulous uniform, paired with his conscientious expression, left Ye Fan feeling that the soldier was very good-looking. So Ye Fan stretched out a hand and wiped the grease from Wu Xingyun’s face.
When Ye Fan’s finger accidently touched the soldier’s lips, Wu Xingyun ducked his head, saying: “I’ve eaten enough.”
Immediately sensing that Wu Xingyun wasn’t happy, Ye Fan hurriedly said: “I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional……” After saying that, Ye Fan didn’t know why he apologized……Was it wrong to be attentive? Regardless, in any case……The wronged one is always right.
After the minivan was repaired, Wu Xingyun decided their food reserves were too low. He would go hunting.
Behind Wu Xingyun, Ye Fan silently clenched a fist, inwardly exhorting himself: I must, I will become stronger. I can’t let him look down on me, and I can’t be a burden. Also, I should never annoy him.
Wu Xingyun didn’t take long to drag back something, even though he didn’t know what it was, being unfamiliar with Earth’s species.
When Ye Fan saw it, his mouth hung agape in surprise.
It was a one meter tall mutant squirrel. Ye Fan had seen mutant squirrels attack hapless, ordinary people. He’d even seen one kill three heavily armed soldiers.
Likely helped through their mutation, this type of squirrel was highly vigilant, not at all easy to catch. Adding in newly heightened intelligence, even perennial hunters couldn’t hit them.
But Wu Xingyun had towed back such a big one in under an hour!
Ye Fan’s original favorable impression of Wu Xingyun, along with a nebulous feeling Ye Fan hadn’t yet figured out, came together to form complete adoration.
Going up to the squirrel’s body, Ye Fan found that Wu Xingyun’s bullet had gone straight to the brain through the eye. It definitely showed a world-class shooting level.
Truly awesome, Ye Fan thought to himself. He stole a covert look at Wu Xingyun, fondly deciding that the soldier was awfully pleasing to the eyes.
Of his own initiative, Ye Fan took on the cleaning, skinning, and cutting of the meat. When all the preparations were done, the two drove off in the minivan.
Wu Xingyun’s driving skills were horrendous, plowing through the snow and grass of the valley. They were tossed side to side for a long time, before finally finding the highway.
Seeing that road was a victory, however. They calibrated their direction and headed towards the county seat they were aiming for.
The sky was growing dark, and after circling around the mountain, the altitude gradually lowered. The weather wasn’t as cold as before, yet definitely not summerish.
Ye Fan packed Wu Xingyun’s jacket and fur tightly into the backpack. Both of them were hungry, and Ye Fan took out the day’s meat.
However, as soon as he opened the cloth he’d wrapped it in, there came a rotten stench.
Shocked, Ye Fan examined the meat: “How’d it go bad so fast?!”
Before, he’d been stuck on the snowy, frozen plateau, unable to find anything except dried rations. Now he was left stunned in surprise.
The weather wasn’t hot. He’d taken care to wash and cook the meat, thinking they could make it last two to three days if need be. And in just one afternoon, it was all for naught.
Apparently, inland was more terrible than the plateau. The species of creatures was also more abundant. Would there……More mutations?
And if food decayed that quickly, did that mean there’d be no food in the towns? Were people killing each other for food? Or, once there was a wound, did it not easily heal?
Shuddering, Ye Fan examined the abrasions on his palms from descending the cliffside. For a young man his age, with a healthy metabolism, one night should have sufficed to mend them.
Only they hadn’t healed. Instead Ye Fan felt them aching and itching. He told himself it was from the climate’s rising temperature and humidity.
Wu Xingyun turned his head to glance at the meat, querying: “What’s the problem? My previous frozen meat lasted at most three days……” Since arriving on Earth, Wu Xingyun hadn’t gained a clear understanding of what was usual bacterial activity. The rate of food decay didn’t bother him much. It was better than some planets, where fresh meat would rot in half an hour.
Unconcerned, Wu Xingyun said: “If we can’t eat it, throw it away. We’ll look for food again.”
He drove toward the tunnel ahead.
Once they got through the tunnel, it would be about five kilometers to the town. Wu Xingyun intended to spend the night there.
Hopefully he could meet more people, while discreetly ascertaining the general situation.
He peered into the distance. The tunnel stretched a long ways, the exit appearing very small, its light faint.
Continuing to drive, Wu Xingyun asked: “Ye Fan, has there always been this smell? Your land……The air here isn’t very good, and the odor makes you sick.”
As Wu Xingyun spoke the words, a wheel hit something. The steering wheel slipped in Wu Xingyun’s hands, the minivan hitting the wall.
Wu Xingyun jumped out of the vehicle, finding the hood of the van smashed and the engine a thorough write off. They’d no longer be able to drive.
Fortunately, the distance wasn’t that far. They could definitely reach their destination on foot. They loaded up their things, Ye Fan carrying the backpack, Wu Xingyun carrying the gun, walking towards the light together.
The further they went, the heavier the foul odor became. Wu Xingyun no longer thought the bloody smell a characteristic of Earth.
Finally, they stopped in front of a wall.
It was a strange, scary wall, blocking almost the entire tunnel, with only a half meter wide, one meter high gap in the lower right corner.
From this gap, came the weak light.
It turned out the tunnel wasn’t that long. It’d been the dim light causing a visual error.
Ye Fan, standing beside Wu Xingyun, looked up slightly, registering what the ‘wall’ was.
Corpses.
A ‘wall’ of mutilated human bodies, piled up to block the tunnel.
Some of the cadavers had no heads. Some had their intestines yanked out and left hanging, looking as if they’d been torn by teeth, then tossed aside as debris.
There were thousands of bodies, rancidness pervading air. Skulls embedded in the ‘wall’ showed terrifying, sinister aspects. Most of the faces had been eaten away, but those left showed varying expressions of horror.
A morbidly dark tunnel, a barricade of corpses, disgusting stench, and the gurgle-gurgle sound of cackling and bones being chewed. Wu Xingyun’s and Ye Fan’s blood run cold.
Having never encountered such circumstances, Wu Xingyun instinctually touched his gun with sweaty palms, belatedly realizing it was just an outdated rifle, not his Ghost soldier equipment.
Gurgle-gurgle. The echo of bones being gnawed went on, but there were more sounds coming.
Squeak, squeak……
Both felt the ground shaking, the noises coming closer and closer.
Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan looked back simultaneously, seeing something that would give them nightmares for a long time.
At the entrance of the tunnel, a wave of blackness poured in fast as a tide. Each one large, dragging a bare tail, and squeaking. In a horde, they devoured whatever they met, drowning everything.
Rats.
Tens of thousands of ashy mutant rats.
Even before mutation, a man would be hard-pressed to fight off a siege of thousands of rats.
Let alone emerging mutated rats.
Who would have the chance to survive?
At that moment, Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan understood how the ‘wall’ had come to be.
""People from the town, dragged to the tunnel and eaten.
Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan had inadvertently stumbled into the rats’ lair……
Why does food rot?
As cells die, their membranes degrade and enzymes start leaking out. The cell digests itself, then neighbouring cells, and the process cascades. Without any immune response to stop them, bacteria and fungi will also begin eating the food and multiplying. As they munch away, they alter the texture of the food and release waste products that change the taste. There are purely chemical rotting mechanisms too, like fat oxidation, which makes it taste rancid.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/why-does-food-rot/
DPM Chapter 42-Tide Of Rats Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
“Mister Yun, you’re really awesome, you can do anything!” Ye Fan sincerely praised Wu Xingyun. “You’re special forces, aren’t you?”
“Hmm,” went Wu Xingyun. “The meat is done.”
Ye Fan promptly cut a slice of meat and delivered it to Wu Xingyun’s mouth.
They continued that way. Ye Fan feeding Wu Xingyun, while watching the soldier repair the vehicle.
Wu Xingyun’s meticulous uniform, paired with his conscientious expression, left Ye Fan feeling that the soldier was very good-looking. So Ye Fan stretched out a hand and wiped the grease from Wu Xingyun’s face.
When Ye Fan’s finger accidently touched the soldier’s lips, Wu Xingyun ducked his head, saying: “I’ve eaten enough.”
Immediately sensing that Wu Xingyun wasn’t happy, Ye Fan hurriedly said: “I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional……” After saying that, Ye Fan didn’t know why he apologized……Was it wrong to be attentive? Regardless, in any case……The wronged one is always right.
After the minivan was repaired, Wu Xingyun decided their food reserves were too low. He would go hunting.
Behind Wu Xingyun, Ye Fan silently clenched a fist, inwardly exhorting himself: I must, I will become stronger. I can’t let him look down on me, and I can’t be a burden. Also, I should never annoy him.
Wu Xingyun didn’t take long to drag back something, even though he didn’t know what it was, being unfamiliar with Earth’s species.
When Ye Fan saw it, his mouth hung agape in surprise.
It was a one meter tall mutant squirrel. Ye Fan had seen mutant squirrels attack hapless, ordinary people. He’d even seen one kill three heavily armed soldiers.
Likely helped through their mutation, this type of squirrel was highly vigilant, not at all easy to catch. Adding in newly heightened intelligence, even perennial hunters couldn’t hit them.
But Wu Xingyun had towed back such a big one in under an hour!
Ye Fan’s original favorable impression of Wu Xingyun, along with a nebulous feeling Ye Fan hadn’t yet figured out, came together to form complete adoration.
Going up to the squirrel’s body, Ye Fan found that Wu Xingyun’s bullet had gone straight to the brain through the eye. It definitely showed a world-class shooting level.
Truly awesome, Ye Fan thought to himself. He stole a covert look at Wu Xingyun, fondly deciding that the soldier was awfully pleasing to the eyes.
Of his own initiative, Ye Fan took on the cleaning, skinning, and cutting of the meat. When all the preparations were done, the two drove off in the minivan.
Wu Xingyun’s driving skills were horrendous, plowing through the snow and grass of the valley. They were tossed side to side for a long time, before finally finding the highway.
Seeing that road was a victory, however. They calibrated their direction and headed towards the county seat they were aiming for.
The sky was growing dark, and after circling around the mountain, the altitude gradually lowered. The weather wasn’t as cold as before, yet definitely not summerish.
Ye Fan packed Wu Xingyun’s jacket and fur tightly into the backpack. Both of them were hungry, and Ye Fan took out the day’s meat.
However, as soon as he opened the cloth he’d wrapped it in, there came a rotten stench.
Shocked, Ye Fan examined the meat: “How’d it go bad so fast?!”
Before, he’d been stuck on the snowy, frozen plateau, unable to find anything except dried rations. Now he was left stunned in surprise.
The weather wasn’t hot. He’d taken care to wash and cook the meat, thinking they could make it last two to three days if need be. And in just one afternoon, it was all for naught.
Apparently, inland was more terrible than the plateau. The species of creatures was also more abundant. Would there……More mutations?
And if food decayed that quickly, did that mean there’d be no food in the towns? Were people killing each other for food? Or, once there was a wound, did it not easily heal?
Shuddering, Ye Fan examined the abrasions on his palms from descending the cliffside. For a young man his age, with a healthy metabolism, one night should have sufficed to mend them.
Only they hadn’t healed. Instead Ye Fan felt them aching and itching. He told himself it was from the climate’s rising temperature and humidity.
Wu Xingyun turned his head to glance at the meat, querying: “What’s the problem? My previous frozen meat lasted at most three days……” Since arriving on Earth, Wu Xingyun hadn’t gained a clear understanding of what was usual bacterial activity. The rate of food decay didn’t bother him much. It was better than some planets, where fresh meat would rot in half an hour.
Unconcerned, Wu Xingyun said: “If we can’t eat it, throw it away. We’ll look for food again.”
He drove toward the tunnel ahead.
Once they got through the tunnel, it would be about five kilometers to the town. Wu Xingyun intended to spend the night there.
Hopefully he could meet more people, while discreetly ascertaining the general situation.
He peered into the distance. The tunnel stretched a long ways, the exit appearing very small, its light faint.
Continuing to drive, Wu Xingyun asked: “Ye Fan, has there always been this smell? Your land……The air here isn’t very good, and the odor makes you sick.”
As Wu Xingyun spoke the words, a wheel hit something. The steering wheel slipped in Wu Xingyun’s hands, the minivan hitting the wall.
Wu Xingyun jumped out of the vehicle, finding the hood of the van smashed and the engine a thorough write off. They’d no longer be able to drive.
Fortunately, the distance wasn’t that far. They could definitely reach their destination on foot. They loaded up their things, Ye Fan carrying the backpack, Wu Xingyun carrying the gun, walking towards the light together.
The further they went, the heavier the foul odor became. Wu Xingyun no longer thought the bloody smell a characteristic of Earth.
Finally, they stopped in front of a wall.
It was a strange, scary wall, blocking almost the entire tunnel, with only a half meter wide, one meter high gap in the lower right corner.
From this gap, came the weak light.
It turned out the tunnel wasn’t that long. It’d been the dim light causing a visual error.
Ye Fan, standing beside Wu Xingyun, looked up slightly, registering what the ‘wall’ was.
Corpses.
A ‘wall’ of mutilated human bodies, piled up to block the tunnel.
Some of the cadavers had no heads. Some had their intestines yanked out and left hanging, looking as if they’d been torn by teeth, then tossed aside as debris.
There were thousands of bodies, rancidness pervading air. Skulls embedded in the ‘wall’ showed terrifying, sinister aspects. Most of the faces had been eaten away, but those left showed varying expressions of horror.
A morbidly dark tunnel, a barricade of corpses, disgusting stench, and the gurgle-gurgle sound of cackling and bones being chewed. Wu Xingyun’s and Ye Fan’s blood run cold.
Having never encountered such circumstances, Wu Xingyun instinctually touched his gun with sweaty palms, belatedly realizing it was just an outdated rifle, not his Ghost soldier equipment.
Gurgle-gurgle. The echo of bones being gnawed went on, but there were more sounds coming.
Squeak, squeak……
Both felt the ground shaking, the noises coming closer and closer.
Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan looked back simultaneously, seeing something that would give them nightmares for a long time.
At the entrance of the tunnel, a wave of blackness poured in fast as a tide. Each one large, dragging a bare tail, and squeaking. In a horde, they devoured whatever they met, drowning everything.
Rats.
Tens of thousands of ashy mutant rats.
Even before mutation, a man would be hard-pressed to fight off a siege of thousands of rats.
Let alone emerging mutated rats.
Who would have the chance to survive?
At that moment, Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan understood how the ‘wall’ had come to be.
""People from the town, dragged to the tunnel and eaten.
Wu Xingyun and Ye Fan had inadvertently stumbled into the rats’ lair……
Why does food rot?
As cells die, their membranes degrade and enzymes start leaking out. The cell digests itself, then neighbouring cells, and the process cascades. Without any immune response to stop them, bacteria and fungi will also begin eating the food and multiplying. As they munch away, they alter the texture of the food and release waste products that change the taste. There are purely chemical rotting mechanisms too, like fat oxidation, which makes it taste rancid.
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/why-does-food-rot/
